How are New Yorkers staying cool in the heat wave?

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NEW YORK — Feeling the burn? Millions of New Yorkers are living in the oppressive heat and it is expected to continue for the next few days.

It's even worse for the hundreds of people who lost power in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx.

David De Sabato lost electricity in Park Slope Tuesday night. On Wednesday afternoon, he was still sweating it out.

"It's very hot. There is no air conditioning. The fans don't work. The fridge is defrosting," he said. In addition to being uncomfortable, heat and humidity like this can be dangerous.

Mayor Bill de Blasio held a City Hall press conference on the heat Wednesday afternoon. He urged all New Yorkers to be cautious.

"This is very high heat. This is going to be one of the hottest days of the year and tomorrow is as well. I want people to be very careful. First, stay hydrated," he said. The city also asked people to raise the thermostat to 78 degrees to save energy.

At the Con Ed Manhattan operations center, PIX11 watched as workers tracked power usage and outages.

"As problems come up we will dispatch crews to go and make the repair. And try to and keep the outage as short in duration as best we can," Con Ed spokesperson Michael Clendenin said.

According to Con Ed, the highest power usage time is late afternoon and early evening.

"So, as the demand grows, you'll see more and more usage in the energy system," Clendenin said.

Cooling centers are open across New York City. You can find one near you at http://www.nyc.gov/oem. City pools are also open until 8pm.